


A Charmed Guide

by wildforce71



Category: Charmed, Power Rangers Samurai
Genre: Gen, Just add Lauren for instant awesome, Lauren Shiba Can Kick Your Ass, Season Rewrite
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-03
Updated: 2013-06-28
Packaged: 2017-12-10 07:06:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/783221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildforce71/pseuds/wildforce71
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hiding among witches seemed like a good idea. Wiccan magic shields Lauren's symobl power and allows her to concentrate on studying. But the Halliwells have their own battles to fight; Lauren manages to keep out of it until a dark haired, green eyed witchlighter tumbles into the house...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't have done this without my beautiful betas; Starlight, Sol, and Jenn. Thanks, you guys.

_Oh My Goddess_  
Lauren checked her books once more, swung her bag over her shoulder, and hurried out of the room. Her foster mother's insistence on school was annoying, but she was immovable on the subject and Lauren had given up arguing long ago.

She was running late, as always. Helping Paige last night had run later than she'd meant to, and one of her books had gone missing. She still wasn't sure what it was doing in Wyatt's room; maybe he was messing with her, she thought ruefully.

She rounded a corner and walked smack into Chris. Apologising absently, she resettled her bag, stepped around him and headed downstairs.

"Hang on!" He was following her. "Who are you?"

"Who are you?" she asked, mostly just to irritate him. She wasn't sure what to think about the sisters' new Whitelighter, but she knew at least part of her problem was that she missed Leo. Two days wasn't enough to make any kind of judgement about Chris, and she hadn't even seen him face to face yet.

Chris trailed her into the kitchen, still trying to demand that she talk to him. Phoebe glanced up from her paper, amused, but she didn't try to explain.

Lauren picked up the lunch Piper had left her, turning to face Chris for the first time, and wow. How had the sisters missed that? "I live here."

"You live here? No. No, the sisters and Wyatt live here."

"And me," she agreed lightly. "And you." He froze, and she added, "I mean, I guess you will. Leo did."

"Hey, whoa, now," Phoebe protested. "That was special circumstances."

"It's fine," Chris said over his shoulder. "I wasn't expecting to." He turned back to Lauren. "Who are you?"

She glanced at Phoebe, who shrugged. "Up to you, sweetie, but we generally trust our whitelighters."

"We trust the whitelighters, yeah," Lauren murmured, just loudly enough for Chris to hear; he flinched again, and she smiled politely. "I'm late for school, Chris, but I'll talk to you when I get home this afternoon. Phoebe, can you please ask the others not to talk about me until then?" Phoebe raised her cup in salute and Lauren nodded. "Thank you. Later."

Chris watched her during the day; she left campus for lunch and he lurked nearby, and she could sense him trying to sense her during the afternoon. Wiccan magic was never very accurate when it came to her, though, and his efforts came to nothing.

He pounced the second she came home, on her heels as she dropped her bag and coat in the hall and wandered into the sitting room. "What are you?"

"Where are the others?" she asked curiously, glancing around. Paige should have been home, and Piper usually tried to be there when school let out.

"They aren't here. What have you done to them?" Chris was tense, leaning against the doorframe to disguise it.

"I haven't _done_  anything, Chris, I live here."

"No, see, I'm from the future. I know this house and this family in the future. You don't live here."

"In your timeline," she agreed.

"My timeline is this timeline!"

Lauren shrugged. "I'm in hiding. If I'm gone by the time you know them, they probably don't talk about me. When are you going to be born, Chris?"

He stumbled over whatever he'd been about to say. "What?"

"Magic is magic to wiccans. Even to the Charmed Ones. They don't see the difference. But I can tell. You're a witchlighter, and more than that, you're a Halliwell."

"...no, I'm not."

"Yes, you are," she said patiently. "I don't know who you are, but Halliwell magic is very obvious. You're definitely a Halliwell."

He stared at her for a long moment. "Who are you?"

Lauren sketched the Shiba symbol in midair, setting it alight with a thought. Chris blinked, pushing away from the wall. "Shiba."

"Yes."

He frowned, obviously concentrating. "One of the Shiba heads - the battle in two thous..." He cut himself off sharply. "The eighteenth head was raised in hiding." He glanced up at Lauren and she bowed briefly, letting the symbol vanish. "You're Lauren Shiba."

"Nice to meet you, Chris Halliwell."

He flinched, glancing over his shoulder. "Look, can you please just keep that to yourself?"

"Why? They should know who you are."

"No, it'll just - it'll make everything more difficult. Please. We talked it all over before I came back here, and this is the way that'll work best, we decided it." Before she could argue he added hastily, "Why are you hiding here?"

"Wiccan magic hides my power. No one can see me."

"But you go to school."

"Yes," she agreed, "because then I don't have to hide every time a neighbour comes to the door and the sisters don't get done by Child Services."

Chris shook his head. "The sisters can't be teaching you how to use your - what's it called?"

"Symbol power. They aren't. I have a tutor assigned by my family, he lives nearby. History, math, and symbol power, four times a week."

He nodded slowly. "Right. And fight training?"

"Self defence classes, Phoebe, and another tutor." She pulled her sword out of midair, smiling at the look on his face. "We've got it handled."

Chris took a deep breath. "I'll be born in a year and a half or so. So on my timeline, you must have left, one way or the other, within about three or four years, or I'd remember you."

Lauren nodded. "Thank you." Letting her sword vanish again, she went to step past him.

"Lauren."

"I won't tell them." He relaxed a little, and she added, "Unless I think I have to."

She scooped up her bag and coat and headed upstairs, leaving him standing in the hall.

 

_Valhalley of the Dolls_

Chris glanced up as the office door opened, casually shuffling a few sheets of paper off the desk. "Lauren. What are you doing here?" She didn't often visit P3, and almost no one came into the gloomy storeroom that now functioned as his room.

"Did you do it?"

"Did I do what?"

"Send Leo away?"

He shook his head, looking down, but he didn't answer. They'd developed an understanding over the last five weeks; they didn't always answer the other's questions, and deflecting was fine, but they didn't out and out lie to each other, not for any reason.

" _Chris_ ," she said softly.

"It was important," he said without looking up.

"Which bit of it, exactly?"

"All of it. I told you, it was planned."

"Who planned it?" Lauren waved a hand in front of his face, startling him into looking up at her. "Who planned it, Chris?"

"Did you want something?"

"Chris, please," she said softly.

"Shouldn't you be practising?"

Lauren splayed a hand over the papers he was staring at. "Chris."

He sighed, sitting back in his chair. "I had to get into the house. And Leo has to know how to fight, and he'd never do it voluntarily. One of the Valkyries in the future told me how to get to the island, and what to tell them to get their help. It was all in the plan."

"And now Leo hates you."

"That isn't new," he said bitterly. "Lauren, I'm busy."

She studied him for a moment before taking a step away from his desk. "I don't believe Leo ever hated his own son."

"Yes, I suppose your four years as a foster beats my twenty as his actual son," Chris agreed, focus back on the papers. "Goodbye, Lauren."

He was expecting the door to slam, but she closed it gently behind herself. He hunched over his work, putting the whole thing out of his mind for the next several hours.

When he went back to the house to set the sisters on another hunt Lauren was playing with Wyatt in the conservatory. They ignored each other until the sisters were gone and Chris was left behind to watch Wyatt.

He stood in the doorway, carefully far enough away from Wyatt that he wouldn't raise his shield. That wouldn't help his case right now. "I'm sorry," he offered.

"Why? You're right. You're his son and I was just foisted on him."

"Lauren."

"They'd have sent me off if there was anywhere else they'd be sure I'd be safe. They've talked about it often enough."

Chris stepped into the conservatory, ignoring Wyatt's shield, and sat next to Lauren. "One thing I do know about Leo? He loves kids. Always has. Wouldn't matter to him why you were here. Once you got here, you're his."

She blinked furiously. "I still don't believe he hated you."

"Hated might have been strong," he agreed. "He didn't really anything me. He didn't come when I called, he was never at my plays or my games, I just didn't exist. Didn't matter."

"Chris," Lauren murmured.

"It doesn't matter, it's just what it is."

"Made the plan easier, I suppose, if you don't care what he thinks of you."

"Easier," Chris echoed. "Yeah."

Lauren glanced down at Wyatt, frowning. "Wyatt, put that away. This is Chris, we like Chris."

"He always does that. It doesn't matter."

"You're very fatalistic for a Halliwell, Chris."

He wasn't sure how to respond for a minute; then he saw the glint in her eye. "Very funny," he muttered. "You said they'd send you somewhere safe if they could find it?"

"Yeah, but it needs quite a lot of power to hide me, so really there isn't anywhere else. no one else as strong as the Halliwells, after all."

"They probably sent you to Magic School."

"To...?"

"Magic School. It's in another realm, and there's only a handful of ways in; it's impossible to scry, or search, or whatever your guys do. The year I turned two the whole place was rebuilt, and I bet they sent you there then. There isn't anywhere safer. That's why I don't remember you, because they didn't talk about you to keep you safe."

"Sounds nice. Did you go there?"

"Real school here in San Fran, afternoon classes at Magic School."

"Sounds like fun."

In perfect unison with him, she said "It was what it was" and laughed at the look on his face.


	2. Chapter 2

_The Power of Three Blondes_  
Chris orbed out to avoid Paige, orbing straight back in. "Where's Lauren?"

"Lauren?" Piper repeated vaguely. She glanced at Paige, who shrugged.

"Lauren," Chris repeated. "Blonde hair, about yay high? Can't miss her, she lives here."

"Oh, _Lauren_! Sorry, I thought you meant someone else. I think she's upstairs."

"Upstairs?" Chris repeated. "I thought she had training this afternoon."

Piper blinked, but Chris couldn't figure out why; he was having trouble reading the sisters today, for some reason. "Training? I dunno. She went upstairs and she hasn't come down."

Chris orbed upstairs, trying to shake the feeling that something was wrong. Lauren's door was firmly shut, and when he touched it it shimmered brightly.

Chris hesitated. Why would Lauren have shielded her door? "Lauren?"

"Who's there?"

"It's just me. What's going on?"

"Oh. Hang on a second, I'm just practising."

The shield vanished; Chris tested it briefly before pushing the door open. Lauren was sitting on the floor by her bed, books and papers spread around her. "Hey," she said, glancing up. "How's your Latin?"

"Pretty good. What's going on?"

"What?"

"Training," he reminded her, sitting on the edge of the bed and reading over her shoulder. "Phoebe's driving you, right?"

"They're busy," she said vaguely. "What does this mean?"

"It's a history lesson, about one of the vassals of the sixth lord. Phoebe's not busy. What's going on?"

Lauren sighed, pushing back to lean against his legs. "There's something going on."

"What kind of something?"

"They look weird. When I look at them. Makes me dizzy. I don't want..." She hesitated, tipping her head back to look at him. "You have dark hair."

"Yeah?"

"Piper and Leo are blonde. Why did that never seem weird before? That's weird, right?"

"Not necessarily. Patty was dark, and Grams." He stared at the far wall for a moment. "What kind of weird? When you look at them?"

"It's..." Lauren shook her head. "You know when you're watching something with really bad CGI, and things just look like they were painted onto the screen? Like that. Like they aren't really there, or they're covering over something that _should_  be there."

He nodded thoughtfully. "I need to check a few things out. Stay in here and put your shield back up, ok?"

She leaned her head back again. "Something's wrong with them?"

"Don't know yet, but I'd rather you didn't take the chance. If they're really them, they won't mind."

"Be careful."

He smirked, remembering Paige propositioning him. "Don't worry. I don't think they have any intention of hurting me." He orbed out, heading for Up There to check on a couple of things.

 

 _My Three Witches_  
"Was it weird?"

"Burdock root. Was what weird?"

Lauren passed him the jar, watching. Chris wasn't measuring, just tossing in handfuls and pinches and sprinkles, but she had no doubt it would come out perfect, whatever it was. "Coming onto a woman you thought was your aunt."

"I knew she wasn't my aunt," he said mildly.

"Yeah, but she looked like your aunt, and all your memories said she was your aunt. Was it weird?"

"Rosemary."

She took a sniff before passing the baggie over. "You're avoiding the question."

"I'm not avoiding anything, I just have to get this done."

"Leo never made their potions, you know. You're spoiling them."

"They're not here." Glancing at her, he added, "And this way, I don't get questions. Usually. Why do you want to learn this? You can't use it."

"Knowledge is knowledge. There've been Rangers who were magic."

"Wizards. That's not the same as us."

"Was it weird?"

He laughed softly, leaning around her for the next ingredient. "Yeah. It was very weird."

Leo orbed in, glancing at her in surprise. "Lauren. What are you doing up here?"

"Chris is tutoring me in potions," she told him.

"Why? They won't work for you."

"That's what I said," Chris murmured.

"Because I like to learn."

Leo studied the table, frowning. "A vanquishing potion? The sisters should be making that."

"They're busy," Chris said without looking up. "So I'm helping out."

"Where are they?"

"Not here."

Leo looked away, concentrating. "I can't sense them."

"I'm handling it."

"If I can't sense them, _Chris_ , it means they're not on this plane."

"I said I'm handling it," he said again. "Can you just let me do what I need to do?"

Leo struggled for a moment before turning away. "Lauren, come with me."

"Why?" she asked in surprise. "I'm learning."

"Come with me," he repeated evenly. "I don't want Chris teaching you anything."

"If you had any proof I'd done anything, you'd have presented it to the other Elders already," Chris said placidly.

"I might yet," Leo warned him. "Lauren."

"Go on," Chris said, and smirked at Leo when she obeyed. "See you later."

"You should be nicer to him," Lauren said as they went down the stairs.

"Why?" Leo said, barely paying attention.

"He is a whitelighter. Doesn't that mean he did something good, or led a good life? Bad people don't make whitelighter."

"There's an argument," Leo muttered. "Look, he knows where my family is and he won't tell me."

Lauren shrugged. "What if my brother came to the door looking for me? You wouldn't tell, right? Secrets aren't always bad."

Leo touched her head affectionately. "Don't worry about it, ok? We'll work this out."

"I just think you should be nicer to him," Lauren said again.

Leo considered her. "I'll try and be nicer to him," he said finally. "If you promise you won't just believe everything he says. We still don't know anything about him."

"I never just believe anything, Leo." Leo glanced up towards the attic, distracted, and she sighed. "What?"

"He's gone somewhere."

"He cares about the sisters. He wants them safe."

He nodded distractedly. "Stay inside, don't answer the door..."

"I know the rules. Leo?" He glanced back at her and she said quickly, "let him explain. Promise me."

"He never explains anything," Leo reminded her, orbing away before she could answer.

Leo came back some time later with Wyatt, the sisters, and Chris. Chris was pale and exhausted; the sisters half-heartedly fussed over him for a few minutes before they all found other places to be. Lauren waited until the room was clear to slip in and sit beside him.

Chris lifted his head slowly to look at her. "Hey."

"What happened?" she murmured, fingering the hole in his sweatshirt.

"Darklighter arrow." He let his head fall back again. "Leo healed it. I'm fine."

"Falling asleep where you sit, but fine," Lauren agreed.

Chris sighed, pushing to his feet. "I gotta go talk to Leo."

"Now?"

"He found the Valkyrie pendant I used on the sisters. He's putting me on trial. I figure I might get extra points for turning up rather than being dragged."

"Chris..."

"It's ok. I've got plans for this, too." He smiled at her, heading upstairs.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chris Crossed_  
Someone knocked on the bathroom door and Chris blinked, brought back to himself. "Just a second!" he called, quickly buttoning up his shirt to hide the wound in his chest. Slipping the engagement ring back into his pocket, he glanced around once to check the room before opening the door.

Lauren crowded him back in, closing the door again. Chris backed up a couple of steps, eyeing her uncertainly. "I'm pretty sure even in this time, people go to the bathroom on their own."

"So remember how I can see your magic?" Lauren had her arms wrapped tightly around herself. "I can also see that massive _drain_  in the middle of your chest. I didn't tell Piper because you're trying to hide it, but - god, Chris, how are you even standing? What's happening?"

"It's all right," Chris said quickly. Lauren looked younger than he'd ever seen her, terrified for him. "I know what's happening; I promise I have it under control."

"You have it under control?" she repeated, voice high and shrill. "How exactly is it under control?"

"I know the witch who did this. She doesn't want me dead. She's just looking for my attention." Lauren scoffed and he added, "I promise. This is uncomfortable, but it's not going to kill me."

"Can I see it?"

She reached for his top, but he pushed her hands away. "No. It'll just upset you."

"Why haven't you told the others?"

"Because what difference would it make? They can't change this or reverse it, only Bianca can. Telling them would just split their focus."

Lauren fidgeted for a moment. "If I hug you, will that hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt. It's just draining me."

"Really?"

"Really. There's no pain at all."

She practically threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around him. Chris swallowed hard, holding on until she pulled away.

"You get one day," she informed him. "And then I'm telling. I don't care what you say. And your day started when this happened, so now it's more like twenty hours. I mean it."

"Got it," Chris agreed. It was easier to give in, at this point; he'd figure out a way to deal with her if it came up.

He didn't believe Bianca would give him that long, though.

 

Chris woke in an apartment he'd never seen before, Bianca leaning over him. "Slow breaths," she murmured.

"What'd you do to me?" he demanded.

"I just saved your life."

"By taking away my powers?" He sat up as Bianca moved away; Lauren was sitting on the floor, eyes locked on her feet, and he scowled. "Bianca."

"You'd rather I knocked her out and left her behind? She's pretty little, I might have killed her by accident. Who is she anyway?"

"Nobody. Just some kid the sisters babysit." He watched for a moment as Bianca began drawing the triquetra on a wall. "How are you going to bring me back anyway? That spell's a one way door."

"He created a new spell because of you. One that works both ways."

"I'm touched," he muttered.

"You should be. He's gone to a lot of trouble because of you." She glanced back, catching his sneer. "Believe it or not, this is your best chance, Chris."

"Yeah? How'd you figure that?"

"Because if I fail, he'll just keep sending back more assassins. And all they'll have to bring back is a body."

"Doesn't matter." He tossed the ring - Bianca's engagement ring - onto the table, watching it rock to a halt. "There's nothing left in the future any more anyway."

For a moment he thought Bianca would argue; instead she just turned to the wall, continuing her drawing. Chris leaned forward, catching Lauren's arm and tugging lightly until she sat beside him.

"Did she hurt you?" He didn't bother to lower his voice, and Bianca didn't turn.

"No." Lauren glanced at Bianca. "She said she'd kill you if I tried to stop her draining you."

"You did right. Don't worry."

"Chris..."

"Hey. I always have a plan, right?" He glanced up as Bianca finished the second arc of the triquetra. "Don't worry."

Lauren nodded, glancing down at her hand. Chris followed her gaze to see her sketching symbols with her fingers; he shook his head quickly, covering her hand with his. Bianca hadn't hurt her because she didn't see any threat. If Lauren revealed who she was, that would change very quickly, and neither of them could stop Bianca now.

Bianca finished the symbol and stepped back, studying it. "There."

Chris stood, motioning Lauren to stay where she was. "You really expect me to just jump in that thing like last time?"

"Not without a fight, no." Bianca's eyes slid to Lauren and back to Chris.

"That's beneath you," Chris said under his breath. Bianca lifted one shoulder in a shrug, and he turned away. "Bianca, please. Don't give up everything we fought for."

"I'm _not_." She swallowed. "I'm just hoping we can find another way."

Chris turned to look at the portal. Lauren was tense on the couch, but she hadn't moved, watching him.

"Ready?" Bianca asked. "Don't move, kid, we'll be gone in a minute."

Orbs rang out and he turned to see the sisters appear behind them. Lauren scrambled off the couch, stepping halfway behind Paige, who shifted to cover her.

"Hey! Future girl!" Piper threw a potion as Bianca was still turning.

Chris knew exactly what Bianca's moves were. He'd fought with her, and against her, many times. He was used to following her movements through battles; doing it in one room with only four other people wasn't a challenge.

He still almost missed it. Bianca threw an athame to shatter the potion, shimmering out at the same time. Piper automatically froze the athame; Bianca shimmered back in, caught the blade and rested it almost gently against Piper's throat.

"Oh, she is good," Phoebe murmured.

Chris had to tense against the instinct to step forward. Bianca couldn't actually hurt Piper, any more than Chris could; too drastic a change, Wyatt would never have given her that much latitude. The sisters didn't know that, though, and he couldn't tell them.

Bianca let him talk her into stepping away, and they were almost through when Piper tried to freeze them. Chris sighed soundlessly; his secrets were being exposed at an alarming rate.

"You're just going to go?" Piper demanded.

"I don't have a choice. She's stripped my powers." Piper looked away at that, and he smiled humourlessly. "Guess Leo will have to fix that floorboard without me."

He saw both Piper and Lauren react to that, but he didn't watch, turning to Bianca. "Let's go."

The portal opened behind them and they walked towards it. Going home.

 

"It meant something," Lauren insisted again.

"You keep saying that, but we need some idea of what it meant," Phoebe said patiently. "Listen, I can tell how firmly you believe it, but let's take it as read and move on, ok?"

"Why say something about the attic?" Paige said thoughtfully.

"Maybe that's where Bianca was taking him," Piper said slowly. "To the attic in the future."

Lauren was listening carefully. Rangers had faced temporal issues before; one whole team had come from the future. She was following this discussion easily enough, more easily than Leo from the look on his face.

Paige quickly wrote a new spell, and Phoebe and Piper put it under the squeaky floorboard. Leo pushed it back into place, pulling the rug back over it.

The far wall glowed blue and Chris flew out, crashing to the floor in a flurry of dust. Everyone yelled, and Leo stepped forward to help him up.

Lauren skirted the group quietly, slipping out of the room without attracting any attention. She didn't really need to hear this conversation; the sisters would press Chris for details, he'd avoid giving them, and nothing would be resolved.

She'd seen him pocket the ring as he stood up.

He came down a couple of minutes later, pausing in the hall. Lauren's door was open a crack; she could clearly hear him say "If I can't save you, I swear to god I'll stop you."

She had about four seconds before he tapped at her door, and she quickly opened a random book and tried to look involved. "Come in!"

"Hey," he murmured, leaning against her door frame. "Can't stay. I just wanted to show you, no more power drain."

"No more drain," she agreed, studying him. "Are you ok?"

"I'll see you later," he told her, turning away again and heading downstairs at a trot.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, sorry sorry. Stuff going on at home, I didn't get this up yesterday. My bad.

_Prince Charmed_  
Lauren wasn't quite sure what was going on. The sisters all seemed fascinated by Piper's magical man, hanging out of him, vying for his attention. Chris was just impatient, and Darryl and Sheila looked completely bemused.

Lauren pushed her chair back, planting herself in Chris's path. "What have you done?" she demanded.

Chris glanced over her shoulder as Piper squealed in outrage. "What do you mean?"

"I know a spell when I see one, and you're not surprised. What did you do?"

"I need them to do something."

"Oh, we're going to play with cake, are we?" Piper hissed, tossing a handful of peas at Phoebe. Phoebe's retaliation caught Paige and within moments a full fledged food fight broke out.

"We're just gonna go," Darryl told Chris, who waved him off.

"You want to come with us, honey?" Sheila offered Lauren. "Just until they work this out?"

"No, thank you, I'll just go to my room or something."

"If you're sure." Sheila nodded, following Darryl out.

"You have a plan, right?" Lauren asked, ducking a handful of some kind of mush.

Chris nodded, catching David's arm as he tried to pass them. "How the hell are you making them happy if they're fighting each other?" he demanded. "Get them to bind Wyatt's powers, _now_."

David plunged back into the fray, calming the girls down, getting them focused. Lauren watched in disbelief. "How much pheromone did you use, anyway?"

Chris shrugged unrepentantly. "All of it."

"They're going to kill you."

"If I get Wyatt bound, they can kill me all they want."

Lauren frowned. "You're not full Whitelighter. You'll actually die."

"Yeah."

The sisters trooped past, following David upstairs. Chris glanced once at Lauren before following them.

Lauren made a halfhearted attempt to clear up the mess before abandoning it to follow the others upstairs. She hadn't made the mess, it wasn't her job to clear it up, and she had  a bad feeling about this. Chris was getting reckless, pushing his boundaries; some kind of deadline was coming up, but he wouldn't tell her what.

"The only reason I came back here was to stop Wyatt turning evil."

The flat declaration halted her in her tracks and she peered around the corner to the door, trying to remain unseen. She didn't need much caution; Leo and the sisters were completely focused on Chris, and he was watching them warily.

"Don't you mean, stop evil from hurting Wyatt?" Paige protested.

Chris shook his head. He looked so tired, Lauren thought. "I didn't think you'd help me if you knew the truth. I knew you wouldn't. The evil I came back to stop wasn't a demon. It's Wyatt." Piper was shaking her head, and he continued desperately, "In the future, Wyatt's going to use his powers to hurt people, take over - kill, even."

"You're lying."

"No. I'm not."

Lauren slipped past them, ignoring Leo's attempt to stop her. "Chris, are you lying?"

"No."

"Wyatt?"

Chris swallowed. "Something turned him. Something made him this way. I want to stop that happening. I want him to be good, the way he should be."

"I believe him," Lauren said, turning to the others.

"You have no idea what's going on here," Piper said angrily.

"I know he doesn't lie to me."

"He never tells us anything!"

"Not the same as lying."

"Listen, I can help you get him back and we can work all this out later," Chris said quickly.

"Help us how?" Piper demanded.

"The Order reversed his morality. He thinks good is bad now, and bad is good."

"So?"

"So, Wyatt brings up his shield around me. He thinks I'm a threat."

"He's not the only one," Paige told him.

" _Listen_  to me. They reversed his sense of morality. His shield will protect him against you, but not me. _Please_. Let me help."

"I don't want your help," Piper said calmly. "I will save my son, and when I do, I don't want to see you again."

Chris rocked back on his feet. "I'm sorry," he breathed.

"Chris, don't..." Lauren cut herself off when he orbed out.

"Lauren, go to your room," Piper ordered. "We need to track down the Order."

"Shame you chased Chris away, then, he's pretty good at finding things."

"Lauren," she snapped.

"He's been trying to save Wyatt for months! You couldn't give him five minutes to explain?"

"Not when he's accusing my son of things like that, no."

"Right, because none of you have ever gone evil."

"Lauren, go downstairs right now."

"I can't believe you." Lauren stomped out, throwing a shield over her room so she wouldn't say something she didn't mean if they tried to get in.

She'd been very close to giving away Chris's secret. It might have given the sisters a shock, but Chris wouldn't thank her for it; he was clinging tightly to his secrets as more and more of them were exposed. Still, if she thought the sisters needed to hear it, she'd tell them and he could react any way he liked.

Scowling, she pulled one of her books out and flipped through the pages to find where she had left off last time. The sisters' never ending drama was distracting her from what was really important. If Chris wasn't willing to fight for this, she wasn't going to either.

Leo tapped on her door to tell her they were leaving, but he didn't try and get in and she didn't bother to get up. They usually did their best not to leave her at home alone, but occasionally they didn't have a choice, so she was used to the house being empty.

The sisters returned, at some point, and Lauren heard Wyatt cry briefly, so whatever plan they'd had must have worked. She kept working, losing herself in the symbols and the movements.

"Lauren."

She glanced up at Leo, not pausing her movements. "Better research how to shield against orbing, too," she murmured.

"Why?"

"So that no one can orb in. What do you want?"

"To check you're ok. Things got pretty heated earlier."

"I'm fine."

Leo sat carefully on the bed. Lauren shifted backwards slightly, pulling her papers with her. "Chris wants to see you," he said quietly. "But he doesn't want to come back here yet; Piper's still really angry and he wants to let her calm down first. Will you come with me?"

"Is he all right?"

"More or less."

She piled the books together, shoving her papers into a messy heap. "I have training in a while."

"I know. We'll be back."

He held out a hand and she took it, letting him whisk her away.

 

The Golden Gate Bridge was rather higher than Lauren was comfortable with; she clung to Leo's arm, eyes squeezed tightly closed. "Easy," Leo told her, a hint of laughter in his voice. "You're fine. It's wider than it looks, and we're right here."

"Easy for you to say, you can orb away!"

"You're fine," Chris told her, taking her hand. "Here. Take a step this way. I've got you."

Lauren followed the tug on her hand, swallowing hard. She could hear Leo orb out behind her, and far below the traffic was rumbling past. "Chris," she whispered.

"You're safe. Open your eyes."

"We're on the Golden Gate Bridge!"

"And I have you. If you slip, I'm right here. Open your eyes."

Lauren obeyed; she was looking straight down, but from this height all she could see was streams of light. "Pretty," she murmured. "Can I back up a bit?"

"Yeah. You have plenty of room." Chris sat down, legs dangling over the edge of the bridge.

Lauren sat cross legged behind him, studying him. "Are you all right?"

"Sorry?"

"Are you all right," she repeated.

"I brought you here so I could ask you that."

"Yeah, but Piper and her sisters aren't angry at me, so if there's something wrong, they'll take care of it."

"Are you sure? Leo told me you stuck up for me after I left."

"Someone had to. Are you all right?"

He shifted, turning to sit sideways so he could watch her. "I got a bit burned during the fight. Leo took care of it, it's fine."

"Not what I meant." She leaned forward, holding his gaze. "Let me tell them."

"No."

"Chris, come on. You think this one will hurt after everything else they've found out?"

"It's the last thing," Chris said quietly, eyes distant. "They know everything else, now."

"Then why bother keeping this one?"

He glanced up, focusing on her. "I could take you home."

"What?"

"I know where the Shiba compound is. You could be hugging your brother in fifteen seconds. You want to go?"

"No," she said, but it was weak even in her own ears.

"Why not? Orb you right in, orb you right out, no one will ever know. No chance for anyone to figure you out."

"No."

He leaned forward. "Why not, Lauren?"

"Because I'd have to leave again," she whispered.

"Yeah." He sat back. "Because you'd have to leave again."

"It's not the same," she said half-heartedly.

"I love my mother more than anything, Lauren. And my aunts, so much. But the women in that house aren't them, and I don't want them suddenly acting like my family because they think they have to. Do you understand that?"

"Sort of." Lauren shifted warily closer to the edge so she could lean against him. "Enough to not tell them. For now."

"Thank you," he murmured. "And thank you for standing up for me."

"Someone had to," she said again. "And I've appointed me." She stared at the rivers of light below them for a moment. "Would you really take me to him?"

"Say the word."

"Thank you," she whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder.


	5. Chapter 5

_The Legend of Sleepy Halliwell_

Lauren never got used to the Bridge, but Chris only brought her there when something important had happened, so she put up with it. Tonight he was pacing anxiously back and forth: she was doing her best not to watch, because it made her dizzy.

 

Eventually Chris wore himself out, dropping to sit next to her. "Finished?" she asked lightly.

 

"Phoebe knows."

 

"Sorry?"

 

"She knows. About me."

 

"Good." She smirked at his glare. "How'd that happen?"

 

"She said something about vision quests, I wasn't paying much attention. What am I going to do?"

 

"You're going to let her help you, because you don't have a choice now. What's wrong?" she added when he winced.

 

"She's calling me. Hasn't stopped since I confessed." He leaned his head back against a support beam. "I have a little problem."

 

"Another little problem?"

 

"Another little problem. My birthday's in less than a year."

 

Lauren thought about that for a minute. "Leo and Piper aren't together."

 

"No."

 

"They're barely speaking to each other."

 

"Hence my problem."

"What happens if..."

"Don't know," he cut her off. "And I'd prefer not to think too much about that part."

"Does Phoebe know?"

"We didn't get into the details, but yeah."

"Can I help?"

Chris smiled faintly. "I'm not having a fourteen year old match-make my parents for me, thanks very much."

"Your loss." She studied him for a moment. "It'll work out, right?"

"Always a plan, Lauren."

"I don't want to lose you."

"You're not going to."

She nodded, playing absently with a wet patch on the beam. "What about Paige?"

"What about her?"

"Phoebe doesn't keep secrets very well," Lauren reminded him. "How long d'you think it'll be until Paige knows about you?"

"I don't know," he murmured. "I hadn't thought about it."

"Not thinking about things, that's not like you."

"They weren't supposed...it wasn't meant to take this long. I should have been long gone, they shouldn't have had a chance to find out who I am. It's not going to help."

"You don't know that."

He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "I know them. This isn't going to help. How's your training going?"

As attempts at changing the subject went, it was fairly transparent, but Lauren went along with it anyway, describing the new kata she'd been learning and the symbols she'd recently learned. Chris nodded along, eyes closed and head leaning against the beam.

"And then I set the room on fire, so that kind of sucked."

"Uh huh."

Lauren smiled faintly, counting under her breath. She reached seven before Chris stirred, looking at her. "Wait, what?"

"Nothing. You shouldn't sleep up here, you know, if you fall I can't catch you and then we'll both be in trouble."

"I'm not sleeping."

"Could've fooled me."

He shrugged, sitting up and pushing his hands through his hair. "If I leave I have to go back and face Phoebe."

"No you don't. Why do you have to do that? Send me back to the Manor and go chase down some contacts, or something. They can't find you, and you'll know if they need you."

"I have to talk to her sometime."

"Not until you're ready."

"Ready?" He laughed softly. "You think you'll be ready, when the time comes?"

"No," she admitted. "I don't think I'll ever be ready."

"We do it 'cos it needs to be done. Not because we're ready for it." He held out a hand. "C'mon. You need to go back, and I need to go face Phoebe and see what she's going to do."

"It'll work out."

"Yeah." He forced a smile, orbing them both away.

 

 _The Courtship of Wyatt's Father_  
Chris caught Paige's attention and she stepped away from Phoebe, joining him in the doorway. "What's up?" she murmured.

"Do me a favour?"

"Of course, anything."

"Take Lauren over to her tutor and get him to keep her there until we sort this out." He lifted one transparent hand for emphasis. "I don't want her watching this. Just in case."

"We're going to save you," Paige told him, and he smiled.

"I know. I'm not - this isn't giving up. Just get her out of here, please."

"You and she got close, huh?"

"She has a brother; you know that, right?" Paige nodded, and he continued, "I think I'm sort of replacing him. He's younger than she is, but..."

"I guess you kind of are her brother," Paige agreed. "Foster, anyway."

"Lauren's got a lot riding on her. I know how that feels."

"I'll take her right now," Paige promised. "You, this is not an excuse for you to give up. We're going to sort this out. You keep fighting, understand?"

"I promise."

She nodded, turning back to Phoebe. "Phoebe? I'm just going to take Lauren to her tutor, keep her out of the Manor until this is settled."

"Good idea," Phoebe agreed without looking up.

"I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

"I'll be right here trying to figure this out. Chris, c'mere, give me the benefit of your wisdom."

Lauren argued, but Paige overrode her and orbed her out mid-sentence, leaving her in her tutor's care. In a day or two, if nothing happened, they'd have to think of something else for her, but she wasn't the priority right now.

In fact she turned up on her own the next day, letting herself into the house late in the afternoon. Paige was coming down the stairs as she crossed the hall. "Hey. What are you doing here?"

"No one was answering the phone."

Paige leaned over the railing to pick up the house phone, scrolling through the entries. "You didn't call us."

"Must be why no one answered." She glanced around. "Paige..."

"Chris is fine. He's up in the attic with Piper. I wouldn't go up, though," she added when Lauren went to step past her. "They're having a fairly intense conversation. Phoebe went to work to avoid them, they were giving her a headache even through the empath blocking potion."

"Did Piper find out who he is?"

Paige frowned. "How do you know who he is?"

"I knew all along," she said absently. "I can see magic, and his is Halliwell - how did she take it?"

"I dunno. We decided to give them some space. Nothing's blown up, though, so that's got to be a good sign, right?"

"Let's hope," Lauren agreed quietly.

She was playing with Wyatt in the sitting room when Chris clattered downstairs, followed by Piper. "Chris, wait!"

"I can't. I told you. I just came to tell you I wouldn't be around for a bit.  I have a chance to get in with this group and I have to take it."

"Please wait."

"You can call me if you really need me, and I'll check in." He glanced across at Lauren, smiling briefly at her. "I'll see you around."

"You want to leave now? After I've just found this out?" Piper protested.

His smile went humourless as he turned back to her. "Think of it as a chance for us to absorb."

"I don't want to absorb, I want to talk to you!"

"Bye, Piper."

He orbed out before she could argue, and she scowled. "Chris, get back here! I'm just going to keep yelling at you, Chris!"

"That won't help, he can put you on mute," Paige offered. "And if you make him do that, we won't be able to get him when we need him."

"Logic is not my friend right now, Paige. Chris!"

"Hey, guess what? Lauren knew all along!"

"Paige!" Lauren protested.

"She's going to be angry at someone, and you're a kid, she won't blow you up." Paige considered Piper. "Probably."

"You knew about this?" Piper repeated. "About Chris? Why wouldn't you tell me?"

"He asked me not to."

"Lauren!"

"What? Look, you were horrible to him. He didn't want you to suddenly think you had to be nice to him, just because he's yours. And I understand secrets. My whole life is a secret."

"He should have told us from the start," Piper said stubbornly.

"Yes, because if a strange guy appeared in your attic while you were busy fighting Titans and said 'Hey, I'm your second son, back from the future to keep your first born from going evil' you'd have believed him. Not blown him up or anything."

"Look at that, the snark is contagious, not genetic," Paige murmured.

"You, out," Piper told her. "You, we're not done, but I think you should go upstairs right now. You have practise to do, right?"

"Yes, I have practice to do," Lauren agreed, heading for the stairs.


	6. Chapter 6

_Spin City_

"Lauren, you should probably go upstairs," Phoebe told her. "We don't know if this demon can feed on your power, but we don't want her trying."

"Why? You have the potion, right? What's the danger?"

"The danger is it's a demon. A very old, very powerful demon. Chris, will you tell her? She listens to you."

Chris looked up, blinking, and glanced from Phoebe to Lauren and back. "Yeah," he said finally.

"Very convincing," Piper said dryly.

"No, it's fine, I'm going. Phoebe, can I borrow you for a sec?"

"Yeah, sure. Just a second, though, I'll have to help Paige with the potion when she gets here."

"A second's fine." Lauren stepped into the dining room, and Phoebe followed her with a frown.

"What's wrong?"

"Chris is." Lauren shifted uneasily. "Look, you know I can see your magic, right?"

"Yeah, that's how you knew Chris is a Halliwell."

"Something's wrong with Chris, something's...taking him over."

"Are you sure?" Phoebe glanced back at Chris, sitting quietly on the stairs beside Piper.

"It's like an infection, spreading all over him. There's still some of him, but I don't know if it's enough for him to be in control right now." She watched Phoebe for a minute. "You're not surprised."

"The spider demon scratched him earlier." Phoebe gestured near her neck and Lauren nodded. "We couldn't find anything in the Book, but we did think about poison." She considered for a minute. "Ok. You go upstairs. I will warn Paige, and if I can get Piper away from Chris I'll warn her too, and we'll keep an eye on him."

"Be careful," Lauren warned her. "It's not doing anything to his powers."

"Got it. Thank you. Hey, Lauren? Don't come down, no matter what you hear. Promise me."

"I promise."

She slipped back into the hall, climbing over Chris when he didn't move. Paige orbed in as she was heading upstairs, and she clearly heard Phoebe call her into the dining room.

Lauren lingered on the upstairs landing, listening as best she could. It was very hard to track a fight through noises, but she had some practise, enough to know that things weren't going the sisters' way. Paige and Phoebe were yelling, but Piper wasn't making any noise and Chris was only grunting.

"Lauren?" Phoebe called after a few minutes. Lauren came back down, hesitating on the last step; Phoebe was crouched over an unconscious Chris, and Paige was anxiously studying a cocoon hanging from the wall.

Phoebe twisted to look at her. "Leo told me you were working on an anti-orbing shield. How's that going?"

"I can't guarantee it. I haven't had a chance to really test it. I think it'll work, but..."

"Better than anything we have. Paige, can you take him down to the basement? Lauren, you go do whatever you have to do."

Lauren nodded, slipping through the kitchen and into the basement to put the symbol on the inside of the door. Paige came up the steps behind her, watching. "Think it'll work?" she asked doubtfully.

"I haven't had a chance to test it; Chris was going to work on it with me, but he's hardly been here lately. Actually, do me a favour." Lauren finished the symbol and added two smaller ones to either side, pushing the door closed. "Orb into the kitchen."

Paige dissolved into orbs, but she reformed exactly where she'd been standing. "Wow," she said, blinking rapidly.

"Wow?" Lauren repeated.

"It's like orbing into a net, it just bounced me back."

"No pain?"

"Disorienting, but no, no pain."

"Ok." Lauren pulled the door open. "Try again?"

Paige vanished that time, calling from the kitchen, "Success."

"Good." Lauren came out to join her, closing and latching the door. "So he can't get out as long as the door's closed, and he can't unlock it from in there. I can't promise it'll hold up if he keeps trying, though."

"Anything that'll give us some time," Paige assured her.

Lauren nodded, wandering back into the living room. Phoebe was eyeing the cocoon, looking for a weakness in it. "Anything?" Paige asked, following Lauren back in.

"Nothing yet, I've tried everything I can think of. What about Chris?"

"He's stuck for now. Keep the basement door closed, he can't get out."

"I don't know how long it will hold, though," Lauren said again. "I didn't get to test it, and he'll be pretty determined."

"It's all right, it'll give us a chance to think of something else."

"I think we should call Leo," Paige said thoughtfully.

"What? Why?"

"Because we need help, and he can help us. We're down a whitelighter and a sister right now."

Lauren looked towards the kitchen. "Chris is trying to get out."

"So we don't have time to argue this," Paige said pointedly.

"No, we can't," Phoebe protested. "Piper doesn't want him knowing she's pregnant. And besides, he doesn't know Chris is his son, and I don't know if I can keep that from him."

"Try," Paige advised her. "Leo!"

Leo orbed in in a sparkle of gold. "Paige, Phoebe. How are you?" he asked kindly. "Hi, Lauren."

Lauren nodded absently. Most of her attention was on the shield; Chris was systematically testing it for weaknesses, and while she could feel everything he was doing she couldn't do anything to reinforce it without going back down there.

"I'll go talk to him," Leo said, turning towards the kitchen.

"Wait." Lauren jerked, hurrying after him. "The shield only holds while the door's closed. If you open it, he can orb out."

"It's all right, Lauren, I'm just going to talk to him."

"He's not just going to talk to you. Leo..."

He smiled at her, pulling open the basement door. "Chris? Chris, I just want to talk."

Lauren retreated to the dining room, scowling. "He didn't used to be so patronising, right?"

"Matter of opinion," Paige told her.

Leo appeared in the doorway, looking shaken. "He attacked me."

"Did you close the door?" Lauren demanded.

"Yes, I closed the door."

She concentrated for a moment. "He's not trying to get out any more."

"Good," Paige said briskly.

"Why is he so angry?" Leo asked blankly.

Paige and Phoebe had a quick argument before Phoebe turned to him. "Chris is your son." Leo rocked on his feet, completely taken aback, and she gushed "Don't we all feel better? I know I feel so much better."

Leo stumbled across to sit at the table, rocked to his core. Lauren watched sympathetically; she had some memories of Jayden, but he'd been so young when she left. She wondered if he'd remember her at all. At least he'd know who she was, he'd have to...

"Why does he hate me?" Leo asked brokenly.

"I don't know, honey," Paige said quietly. "He's real closed lipped about the future."

"I don't think he hates you," Lauren offered. "Not really. He just thinks he does."

"Oh?" Leo asked, turning towards her.

"Someone you hate, you don't get that angry at. You don't care enough."

Phoebe frowned, eyeing her. "What do you know, missy?"

"Later," Lauren told her. "Piper and Chris."

"Piper and Chris," Leo agreed, taking a deep breath. "The last victim of the spider demon was a wizard called Rathmere. There might be something of his in Magic School I can scry with. Lauren, come with me; you'll be safe at the School."

"I don't want to go to the School, I want to stay here. You won't know if the shield is failing."

"It won't matter anyway," Paige told her. "You can't recast it quickly enough if it fails, and the warning won't help if he gets out."

Lauren shook her head. "I can talk to him."

"He isn't listening."

"He isn't listening to _you._ He's not angry at _me._ I'm not complicated like you are."

"No, Lauren, we're not letting you near him right now," Leo said firmly. "Come on, now. I'll get someone there to show you some more potions."

"I'm not going there," she said firmly. "I don't like Gideon."

"Gideon's an Elder," Leo reminded her.

"So? He's...wrong. Weird. Off. I'm not going."

"Lauren," Leo started.

"Oh, look, we don't have time right now," Phoebe said impatiently. "Lauren, we'll talk about Gideon later. Go upstairs for now, at least, and put that shield around your room, too. Leo, Magic School, find something we can use. Paige, let's see what potions we have on hand." She clapped her hands together firmly. "Move, people!"

Lauren raised a hand hesitantly. "Why am I shielding my room?"

"Because if the spider demon gets control again, she might have Chris use you against us. This way, he can't get at you. Go on. We'll tell you what's happening."

Lauren went upstairs, cast the shield, and then hauled out a particular book to search for a certain symbol. She'd never used this one before, but today seemed like the day.

Paige came to tell her what was happening. Lauren nodded along, pretended to agree to stay behind, and gave them three minutes to be sure they were gone before drawing the new symbol.

Teleporting was disorienting, and Lauren nearly fell over when she materialised, but it worked. Leo glared at her when she slipped out of the trees to join them, but he didn't bother trying to send her home.

"I could just knock," the ogre suggested. Lauren briefly wondered where they'd found him before remembering Paige's rant about the magical folk coming for her help earlier.

Leo nudged her back a little as the ogre began banging on the wall of the spider demon's lair. "Stay back," he said quietly. "We still don't know if she can sense your power." He pushed her back again as the wall dissolved and the spider demon stepped out to confront them.

It was fairly low key, in the end; Paige threw the potion, the demon reverted to spider form to avoid it, and the ogre stomped on her, squashing her into the ground. Lauren made a reflexive face at the sound, trying not to look at the smear of goo.

Leo hurried into the cave; Lauren slipped through the entrance while Paige and Phoebe were distracted by the magic folk. Leo was helping Piper out of her cocoon when Chris stepped out of the shadows, eyes dark and clearly still under the demonic influence.

"What's going on?" Piper demanded, clinging to Leo as she found her balance.

"Our little boy. Gotta get you out of here." Leo waved a hand, orbing her away.

Chris didn't seem too worried, circling widely around Leo to reform the door, blocking the sisters out. He walked past Lauren to do it, but if he saw her, he didn't react. Lauren gripped her morpher tightly, watching as he stalked back towards Leo.

"Chris, come on, let's talk about this for a minute," Leo said, backing up warily.

"A minute?" Chris backhanded him into a wall, grinning viciously. "We have the next hundred years."

Lauren gripped her morpher, running through symbols in her mind. She couldn't think of anything that would help, here, nothing that could break the influence on Chris' mind.

Dimly she heard Leo taunt Chris, trying to anger him into losing control. It was working, maybe a little too well; Chris was throwing him around the cave, demon strength enhanced by years of anger.

Lauren drew a deep breath, slipped out of her hiding place and scrambled between them.

Chris checked himself when he saw her. "Lauren. What are you..." He shook his head, demon aspect returning."Get out of my way," he snarled.

"No."

"Get out of my way!"

"Lauren, move," Leo said.

Lauren shook her head without looking at him. "No."

Chris moved as though to push her aside; Lauren raised her chin, staring him down, and he aborted the movement. "Do you think you're safe?" he asked, voice low and dangerous.

"No. I think I'll fight back. I'm not afraid to hit you."

He laughed, shaking his head. "Mighty head of House Shiba."

"That's me," Lauren agreed.

"Lauren." Leo dragged himself to his feet, coughing. "Just get out of the way."

"No."

Chris moved faster than either of them could see, grabbing her arm and pulling her closer. "Why do you care? Are you that desperate for a brother? I'm never going to be him and you know it."

Lauren swallowed. "You don't hate Leo that much. I know you don't."

"You don't know anything about me!"

"I know one thing."

"What's that?"

"Your grip's all wrong." She twisted out of his grip, knocking him back a couple of steps. "Big bad Chris, can't even hold onto a girl."

"Lauren!" Leo yelled, and she flashed a grin over her shoulder.

"What's the matter, Chris? Not so easy to hit me? Come on, I'll make it easy." She held her arms wide, daring him; Chris snarled, and she smiled more gently. "I didn't think so." She took a step towards him, reaching to brush his hair out of his face.

"Don't," he murmured, but he didn't move.

"You're better than that," she told him.

"We can work through this," Leo added from behind her.

Chris tensed, pulling away from her. "I don't want to work through it! I don't want anything from you! I don't need you!"

His eyes flared and his whole body shimmered, and when it cleared he was back to himself again, clearly exhausted but perfectly human. Piper and her sisters hurried in, clustering around Leo.

"I'm fine," he said quickly, brushing them off. "Chris..."

Chris shook his head, backing away. "Don't."

"We need to talk."

"No, we don't. I don't need anything from you."

"Don't you dare," Lauren said warningly. Chris shook his head, taking another step back, and she added quickly, "I'll follow you. I can do that now."

"Lauren, come here," Piper told her. "Chris, come back to the Manor. Let's talk about this."

"There's nothing to talk about." Chris held out a hand to Lauren; she shrugged apologetically at Piper, letting him orb her away.

 

Leo had to know where they were. Lauren couldn't shield an open space like this, but he hadn't come after them, and Chris didn't seem to care. He was just sitting cross legged on a beam above her head, staring blankly straight ahead.

Lauren waited patiently, occasionally sketching a symbol to try and keep them warm. It was cold this high up, this late in the evening.

"What do I do now?" Chris said eventually.

"Now you go back home," Lauren said easily.

"I can't just go back."

"Why not?"

He looked down at her. "You were there. You saw."

"I saw you taken over by something else. That's always happening to Halliwells. You're just upholding a family tradition."

He laughed softly; it sounded almost like a sob, and he cut it off quickly. "Your perspective."

"I study Ranger history as well as Shiba history. You know how many teams ended up with Rangers who'd been evil? Not just briefly, but for a long time? Almost all of them. Every team so far has had someone go bad at least once. The Shiba vassals do a little better, but not much, and there've been three Shiba lords who were influenced for various lengths of time. The seventh lord almost flooded this world himself." Chris shook his head, looking away again, and she continued placidly, "The evil isn't the important part. How you act afterwards, that's the important bit. And Chris, you're not the type to mope around up here because of something that was out of your control."

"It wasn't," he murmured.

"What?"

"It wasn't out of my control. I didn't have to hurt Leo like that. I just wanted to."

"Well, I wanted to smack him a couple of times today too." That was definitely a sob this time. Lauren ignored it, turning to follow his gaze out over the water. "Good thing you've got that 'I was taken over by evil and I couldn't help myself' thing to fall back on. They won't question you."

"Leo will." Chris took a deep breath; it hitched in the middle and he struggled for a moment, trying to even his breathing. "He'll want to know why I hate him."

"So tell him."

Chris shook his head, but he didn't speak for a long time. Lauren was starting to shiver, hiding it as best she could, when he suddenly said, "Are you angry?"

"Angry?"

"The Plan."

Lauren looked out at the water. The lights of a ship were just visible in the darkness, and she stared at them until her vision steadied. "Sometimes." Piper hated it, she knew, the idea of the Shiba siblings being brought up so alone; it was part of why she fought so hard for Lauren to have school and friends and places to go outside the Manor. She'd even tried to argue for Jayden visiting them at the Manor, early on.

"Would you tell him?" Chris asked distantly. "Your father? If you could?"

"I don't know." She shivered again, trying to remember her father's face. "I believe in the Plan."

"I believe Leo's a good man. In certain ways. Doesn't mean he isn't terrible in other ways."

"I want to go home," Lauren whispered, fighting a surge of loneliness that threatened to swamp her.

"Me, too," Chris agreed.

Leo orbed in, glancing warily from Lauren to Chris. "Can we talk?" he asked, pitching it to Chris.

"There's nothing to talk about." Chris was staring out over the water again, avoiding his eyes.

"I think I deserve to know what makes me such a bad father."

Chris shook his head. Lauren watched him for a moment before easing to her feet.

"In Chris' future..."

"Lauren," he snapped.

She glared back at him. "In Chris' future, you were an Elder, and that kept you pretty busy. But you made time for Wyatt, and Piper."

It took Leo a moment, but then he blinked. "I made time for Wyatt and Piper. But not Chris? Not you?" He looked up at Chris, who was steadfastly ignoring him, staring out to sea.

Leo took a deep breath. "Maybe - maybe that's one of the things you came back to fix, Chris."

Chris scoffed. "If I cared, maybe."

"Chris, we can fix this."

"I don't think so." He orbed out.

Leo blew out a breath, sighing, and turned to Lauren. "Come on. Let me get you back to the Manor."

"No chasing him."

"Lauren..."

"I mean it! I'll just keep teleporting back here, I'll make you spend all night coming back to get me. Chris needs time, ok, he's upset."

"He shouldn't be alone."

"He's always been alone. He copes better alone."

Leo stared at her. "You're not alone, Lauren."

"This isn't about me, it's about him. Leo, leave him alone for tonight."

"For tonight?" he repeated.

"For tonight."


	7. Chapter 7

"Chris, got a minute?"

Chris glanced up from the cauldron. "Can it wait a few minutes?"

"I'd really like to talk to you now, please."

He nodded, giving the cauldron one more stir and eyeing it critically. "Ok, Lauren, when it stops steaming, throw in the poppy seeds, and I'll be back in a minute."

"Got it," Lauren agreed, waving a hand through the steam.

Chris joined Piper at the doorway, frowning. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," she demured. "I just...about Lauren, Chris."

"What about her?"

Piper took a deep breath and plunged. "You and she are very friendly, and she's fourteen, and girls that age can often -"

"Mom," Chris attempted.

"- form attachments to people they see a lot of -"

"Mom."

"- and I know you're not doing anything inappropriate, but -"

" _Mom._ "

"- she's still only fourteen, and we're responsible for her, and you're the closest to her age, so it's perfectly natural that she -"

"MOM!"

Piper blinked at him, derailed. "What?"

Chris glanced over his shoulder - Lauren was ignoring them so completely it had to be on purpose - before looking back at Piper. "There's nothing like that, ok?"

"Are you sure?" Piper flinched at the look on his face. "No, I mean, I'm sure there isn't on your side, but - she's fourteen, Chris."

"And I'm her brother, Mom. That's all it is. She misses Jayden, and I'm here."

"She keeps your secrets."

He nodded. "I shouldn't have made her do that. She wanted to tell you; I talked her out of it. I talked her out of it over and over again. If it helps, there's no more secrets for you to find out."

"Great, I know it all now." Piper looked over his shoulder; Chris didn't turn. "You'll be careful?"

Chris lowered his voice even further. "I love Bianca, Mom. I'm hoping she'll be there, in the new future. Even if she wasn't, Lauren's too young, or too old. Me being around makes her miss her brother just a little bit less. That's all it is."

"All right," Piper said finally. "I believe you."

"Gee, thanks. Nice to know you don't think I'm chasing the fourteen year old."

Piper swatted at him. "Yeah, well, you spend more time with her than you do with us, what am I supposed to think?"

Chris winced. "She's - not as complicated as you are. It was easier around her, before you knew."

"Chris, this is turning a really gross looking green, is it meant to be doing that?" Lauren called.

"Go save your potion," Piper said, watching in amusement as he scrambled back to Lauren's side.

 

 _Witch Wars_  
Chris glanced around the room. The party mood was starting to wind down; Piper was almost asleep, curled against Leo on one of the couches. Phoebe was playing with Wyatt and Paige was flicking absently through one of the many books scattered around.

And Lauren was sitting on a table near the door, sketching shapes in the air.

Chris took the apple juice Piper and Lauren had been drinking and went over to join her. "What are you doing?" he asked softly, sitting beside her and squinting to try and follow the symbols.

"Nothing. Just amusing myself." She lit the symbols on fire for a brief moment; Wyatt cheered from across the room and she grinned, letting them go out.

Chris offered her the bottle and she shook her head. "What's wrong?" he asked quietly.

"Can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because it's petty and selfish and mean."

He nodded slowly. "I could pretend not to listen." She shoved him and he grinned. "I promise not to be insulted, or to think you're mean."

"No. Just let me practise, Chris."

"You could tell one of the others."

"I don't want to tell anyone, I want to sit here and practise, please."

Chris studied her for a minute before looking across the room. "Leo? Got a minute?"

"Chris!" Lauren protested.

Leo unfolded himself from around Piper, coming to join them. "What's up?"

"Lauren's upset about something and she won't tell me what because she's afraid I'll be mad." Chris pushed the bottle of apple juice into his hands, bouncing off the table. "Good luck."

Leo blinked, watching him as he went to join Paige. "...right," he said finally, hitching himself up to sit next to Lauren.

"I don't want to talk," she said firmly.

"So I've heard." He watched her for a moment. "You know you can tell us anything, Lauren. You can tell _me_ anything."

"Even something stupid and petty and selfish?"

He laughed softly. "Even something petty and selfish. You're human, Lauren, everyone has times like that."

She shifted, stuffing her hands under her legs. "And you won't tell?"

"Not a word. Sometimes just saying it out loud can help."

She nodded slowly. "Chris came back to save Wyatt. And now Wyatt's safe."

"Yeah," Leo said, not following.

"So he'll be leaving."

"Ah." Leo rocked back for a moment. "I suppose he will, yes."

She looked sideways at him. "You hadn't thought of it."

"No," he admitted. "I hadn't."

"I want him to go home and be happy. He worked so hard for it. But I don't want him to leave."

"I know exactly how you feel."

Lauren shook her head. "But you get to have him again. He didn't know me before he came here. I go somewhere else before he's old enough to remember."

"What? I didn't think you were that close to mastering your symbol."

"I'm not. Years away at least; I don't have nearly enough power yet. He thought maybe you sent me here, to Magic School, once it gets going again - but he didn't know me. I won't see him again."

"So ask him to see you again."

"What?"

Leo shrugged. "Before he leaves here, ask him to go find you when he gets home. Piper or I will know where you are; we wouldn't let you go otherwise. He'll be able to find you."

Lauren sat in silence for a moment before freeing one hand to start tracing symbols again. "I want him to go and be happy. He deserves it."

"I think you should tell him," Leo said gently. "We're all feeling the same way. He'll understand."

"Do you think so?"

"I do." Leo nudged her shoulder. "Want me to send him back over?"

She bit her lip. "You really think he won't be mad?"

"He won't be mad." Leo slid off the table, leaving the apple juice behind, and crossed to where Chris and Paige were debating an astrological chart.

Chris glanced up. "How'd you do?"

"She'll tell you, I think, but she's afraid you'll be upset at her, so be careful, ok?"

"Am I likely to be upset at her?"

"Not unless you're ready to be upset at all of us. She isn't thinking anything we all aren't."

"Cryptic," Paige noted. "Hurry on over and talk to her, Chris, so I can pump Leo for answers."

Chris made a face at her, pushing to his feet and wandering back towards Lauren. Behind him, Leo sat down and leaned towards Paige, speaking quietly.

Lauren was staring down the infinite corridor; she glanced briefly at him as he sat down. "Your turn again?"

"You're starting to worry me, you know."

"Don't go."

He blinked. "What?"

"Don't go. Don't go back to the future. Stay here." She shrugged at his look. "That's what's wrong with me. I don't want you to leave. I mean, I want you to be happy, you deserve it, and I'll be happy for you when you go - but don't leave. Everyone leaves."

"Lauren," he said softly.

"You're going, and I'm glad," she said over him. "You deserve to go home and be happy. But you wanted to know what's upsetting me, and that's it. People keep leaving."

"You'll see Jayden again."

"Is that comforting or future knowledge?"

"A little of both."

She nodded slowly. "When?"

"That part I can't tell you. I'm sorry."

She nodded again, and they sat in silence for a few minutes. Paige was shooting them sympathetic looks from across the room.

"I'm sorry," Chris said finally. "I can stay a little while, but I really need to be gone before I'm born."

"No. Don't. Go as soon as you can. Don't hold it all up because of me." She leaned against him briefly. "Go home and be happy."

"Lauren," he said quietly.

"Do me a favour?"

"Anything."

"When you get home? Go see me. I'll be waiting. Twenty two years. Leo says he'll make sure he knows where I am."

"I promise," he agreed, wrapping one arm around her shoulder. Lauren leaned against him, trembling, and he held on.


	8. Chapter 8

_It's a Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad World_  
Chris glanced up uncomfortably, eyes flicking around the attic. Something was wrong, something was off, and he couldn't put his finger on what, exactly.

Lauren was sitting on the floor beside Wyatt's playpen, sketching the same symbol over and over. Chris hadn't asked her what it was; she knew what was going on, and she wasn't likely to be wasting time on anything pointless.

"Did you hear that?" he asked, eyeing an empty corner of the attic. The house creaked all the time, he was used to it, but there was something different this time.

Lauren didn't answer and he grimaced, going back to the Book. There had to be some way to shift the balance back; a happy world sounded good in theory, but in practise, he was ready to hit someone, even if it did land him in jail.

The floor creaked again and he shook his head. "Ok. Time to get out of here. Let's go." Wyatt wouldn't like the top of the Bridge, but it would keep him safe until Leo got back from the hospital, hopefully with Phoebe and Paige in tow.

Halfway across the attic he was knocked off his feet by a telekinetic blast. Lauren went flying at the same time, crashing into a pile of boxes. Chris shook his head, focusing to see Gideon leaning over the playpen.

"No!" He yanked Gideon away telekinetically, pushing himself to his feet. "Wyatt, shield! Lauren!"

"I'm fine!" Lauren called, disentangling herself from the boxes.

"Go to Wyatt. Wyatt, shield Lauren," Chris ordered, watching as Gideon slowly heaved himself to his feet.

"Get out of my way, boy," Gideon ordered.

"You are not laying a hand on my brother."

"He has to be stopped. You've seen what he is."

"I've seen what you made him."

"Chris, you're not going to talk him down," Lauren told him. Chris backed towards them, still watching Gideon.

The hit was too fast to see; Gideon flung him across the attic, manifesting an atheme and shimmering into invisibilty as Chris stood. He stood warily for a moment before hurrying towards the playpen.

Lauren's symbol hit him at the same moment as Gideon's blade; Chris folded up around the impact, falling to his knees and gasping for breath. Gideon's hand rested on his shoulder for a moment, almost paternal.

"I'm sorry," he breathed before straightening, turning towards the playpen. Lauren was reaching in to lift Wyatt up; Gideon tossed her to one side, leaned down and orbed both himself and Wyatt away.

Lauren scrambled painfully to her feet, limping across and dropping to her knees beside Chris. "Are you ok? It should have worked, I only had a second, Chris..."

Chris unfolded painfully, dragging in a breath. "What...ow. God. What happened?"

Lauren patted at his stomach, checking for holes or wounds or blood. "A shield; it's not designed for blades, but it was all I could think of, I was expecting a demon and fireballs, it would have worked on them..." She slammed her mouth shut, cutting herself off mid-babble.

Chris eased his sweatshirt up, wincing at the bruise already blossoming across his stomach. "Like a bulletproof vest."

"I guess. I'm sorry, I had no time..."

"I'm alive. It's fine. Leo! Lauren, are you hurt?"

"Just bruised where I landed. It's nothing."

"Dad!"

Leo orbed in, red eyed and wet faced. "What's going on?" he asked, glancing around.

"What happened?" Chris demanded, studying him.

"Barbus." He glanced around the room, scrubbing a hand over his face. "A distraction?"

"Gideon took Wyatt." Chris made to stand, wincing. "I'm sorry, I tried..."

"Are you hurt?" Leo demanded, kneeling beside him.

"Bruises. Lauren saved me, Gideon tried to stab me."

Leo hesitated, staring at him. "What?"

"Gideon tried to stab me," Chris repeated. "Lauren put some kind of shield up, he didn't notice."

"Too focused on Wyatt," Lauren suggested, flopping onto her back.

"Are you hurt?" Leo asked her, hands glowing as he held them over Chris.

"Bruises. He pushed me around a bit." She bit her lip, staring upwards as Leo shifted around to heal her. "I'm sorry I couldn't stop him."

"It's not your fault," Leo said firmly. "Gideon's an Elder, there's no way you could have stopped him."

"You saved my life," Chris reminded her. "Thank you."

"It wasn't anything."

"It was dangerous," Leo contradicted her. "If Gideon had figured out what you did..." He touched her head gently. "Thank you, Lauren."

She shrugged. "Couldn't stop him taking Wyatt."

"We'll find Wyatt. We know who has him." He glanced at Chris. "I need to go get Phoebe and Paige. Can you make up a summoning potion?"

"You think we can summon him away from Gideon?"

"Maybe. Worth a try. I'll be back as soon as I can." He orbed out.

Chris sighed, glancing around the attic. "Right. I can't do it up here. Let's go downstairs, the stuff I need should be in the kitchen."

"Can you summon Wyatt? He's so strong."

"He'll want to get away from Gideon, so hopefully he won't fight the spell. Come on. Let's get this going."

 

Leo reappeared a few minutes later with Paige in tow. "Phoebe's staying with Piper," he said before Chris could ask.

"Is she ok?" Chris asked.

"Everything's fine. Where are we on the potion?"

Chris eyed him. "It's almost done. What's wrong with Mom?"

"The birth's harder than it should be," Paige told him. "It's going to be fine, though. Let's summon Wyatt, get him back here so we can take him to meet you."

Chris nodded, eyes on the potion as he waited for it to stop steaming. "I need to go back to the future before I'm born."

"Why?"

"That's the way it works. I can't be here when I'm born."

"Well, we'd better hurry and figure that out, too, because that could be any minute."

Leo nodded. "We still have some of the potion left."

"That didn't work," Paige protested.

"I think Gideon blocked it. He wanted us to use the spell, to throw the worlds off. The potion should work."

"I'll risk it." Chris bottled the summoning potion, passing it to Paige. "Let's do this, quickly."

Paige passed the bottle to Leo. "You have a better chance than I do."

Leo nodded, staring at the bottle. Chris touched Lauren's shoulder, motioning her out of the room.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I meant to have time to talk to you, I meant it to be easier for you."

Lauren shrugged, avoiding his eyes. "I knew you were leaving. I didn't say goodbye to Jayden, either. And in twenty two years I'll see you again."

"You will. I promise, Lauren."

Leo came out to join them, Wyatt in his arms and Paige trailing behind. "Paige is taking Wyatt to the hospital," he said quickly. "Chris, are you..."

"I'm going. Paige, will you take Lauren, too? Where are you going, Dad?"

"I'm going after Gideon," he said grimly. "Otherwise he'll just try again. This has to stop." He passed Wyatt to Paige and pulled Chris into a hug. "I'll see you in twenty years."

"I'll be here," Chris agreed, holding on for a moment before pulling away. "Go."

Paige took a step forward as Leo orbed out. "Chris..."

"Remember, I'll be coming to you for money." He shifted uncertainly. "Tell Phoebe and Mom..."

"I will," she promised. "Go."

Chris looked at Lauren, who nodded quietly. "Go home, Chris. Be safe."

"I'll see you," he promised, heading for the stairs at a run.

Paige sighed, nudging Lauren gently. "C'mon, kiddo. Let's go to the hospital."

Lauren shook her head, taking a step away from Paige, face tilted upwards. "Wait. Just a second."

"What are we waiting for?" Paige protested.

"We..."

Lauren trailed off, still watching something Paige couldn't see. After a moment she nodded, relaxing. "Let's go."

"Did you just see the portal?" Paige asked curiously.

"I saw magic. I can't tell spells apart, but magic, yes. Something really big happened. Let's go."

"He's safe, you know."

Lauren smiled, but it didn't touch her eyes. "Let's go."

 

Two days later, Piper was finally allowed home. Lauren had avoided seeing Baby Chris yet, pleading training or homework to avoid visiting the hospital.

She was in her room when Phoebe tapped on the door. "Piper's home, Lauren."

"I'll be there in a second, just need to finish this."

"I'm not going away until you come out," Phoebe warned her.

Lauren sighed, gave up on her half formed plan of staying in her room for the next two years, and went out to join Phoebe. "I was coming," she said half heartedly.

"Sure you were, kid. Come on. Try and smile, huh? I know you miss him, we all do, but for Piper's sake, be happy if you can." Lauren pasted on an obviously fake smile and Phoebe smiled. "All right, I take the hint. Feel what you feel."

Lauren trailed her down to the living room, where Leo and Paige were fussing around Piper. She looked tired, but happy, and Lauren found her mood lifting just from walking into the room.

"Hey, Lauren," Piper said when she came in. "How are you? Been busy with training, huh?"

"Sorry," Lauren said half heartedly.

"It's fine. You gotta do what you gotta do. Want to meet someone? C'mere."

Lauren moved to sit next to her, and Piper shifted Baby Chris into her arms. Lauren stared down at him for a long moment.

She was vaguely aware of Phoebe and Paige making some kind of excuse, and of Leo simply walking away, leaving her with Piper and the baby. Piper was watching her, smiling gently.

"Hi, Chris," she said finally, freeing one hand to scrub at her eyes. "I'm Lauren. And you don't know it yet, but you and me, we're going to be friends one day." Chris giggled, reaching for her hand, and she laughed.


	9. Epilogue, 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Originally this wasn't here, but a commenter requested it, and I like ot give my commenters what they want if I can. :D Enjoy.

A week after Lauren's second return to the Shiba House, she found Jayden out in the garden one morning. They were still struggling, the two of them, still feeling their way in this new relationship, but they'd been getting on well so far.

"Jayden?" she called from the deck.

Jayden put up his sword, glancing over. "Lauren. Want to spar?"

"Maybe later. Are you busy right now?"

"Nothing that won't keep. What's up?"

She perched on the picnic table, and he put the sword away and came to join her, absently accepting the water bottle she offered him. "Is something wrong?"

"No. Nothing's wrong. I just...I wanted to tell you about where I grew up."

"You said you were lonely."

"I was. But not at first. At first, I was living with a family in San Francisco."

She told him about the Halliwells, about Wyatt and both versions of Chris, about Coop and Henry and Victor. She told him about Magic School, where she'd been miserable, but her powers had come on in leaps and bounds. It hadn't been so bad once Leo started working there again, at least.

Jayden listened to all of it, mostly in silence. "I'm glad you had some good times," he said finally.

"I did have some good times," she agreed. "And I promised Piper something, when I was leaving, and it's time for me to do it."

"Do what?"

"Paige!"

Jayden stood involuntarily when a shower of blue sparks appeared, but he didn't look worried. Lauren grinned, staying where she was until Paige appeared. "Paige!"

"Lauren!" Paige came over to hug her, glancing sideways at Jayden. "Who's the sidekick?"

Lauren laughed. "Honorary aunt Paige, my brother Jayden. Jayden, Paige's sister Piper was my guardian."

Jayden held out a hand; Paige brushed past it and pulled him into a hug. "I can't believe you're you! I mean, I get to meet you! This is great!" 

Jayden looked pleadingly over her shoulder at Lauren, who was laughing silently. "Paige, off of the brother, please, you're freaking him out."

"Oh." Paige let go, taking two steps back. "Sorry. Didn't mean to." She turned to Lauren; Jayden hastily backed away, circling the table to get it between them. "I'm guessing this means it's all over?"

"It's all over," Lauren agreed with a sigh. "It didn't work quite the way we thought it would, but it did work, and that's the important bit."

"Oh?"

She looked at Jayden, smiling. "The power of two set us free."

 

Jayden escaped inside after a couple of minutes to find some snacks, and Paige laughed, joining Lauren at the table. "I think I scared him."

"He's not really used to hugs," Lauren said absently. "Listen, I want him to meet the others, but I don't..."

She trailed off, and Paige nodded understandingly. "The kids aren't home, sweetie. Field trip from Magic School, they'll be gone for another couple of days."

"That's some good timing."

"Well, when you left Magic School, there may have been some freaking out, and some running around trying to find somewhere safe for the kids, and they may or may not have ended up on a field trip that we can't actually interrupt to get them back even though everything's over now."

"Piper must be loving that."

"I think Leo's loving it even more."

Jayden, coming from the front door with a tray, very nearly about-faced at that. Lauren grinned, standing to take the tray from him. "Jayden, will you come with me to see them?"

"To San Fransisco? Lauren, how..."

"Orb light express," Paige said lightly. "No problem." Jayden made a face and she grinned. "Don't worry. We're not going anywhere near the Golden Gate."

"Uh - good?"

"I didn't tell him that bit yet," Lauren explained.

"Now I'm worried," Jayden muttered.

"It's no big deal." Lauren took his arm, gesturing to Paige. "Chris liked to hang out on the top of the Golden Gate Bridge, and sometimes I went with him."

Jayden's response was lost to the orbs.

 

Lauren did her best not to leave Jayden alone. The Halliwells were overwhelming enough to her, and she was used to them; Jayden was introverted enough without leaving him to their tender non-mercies.

Piper was fussing over them both, trying to feed them up; Lauren thought she was probably overcompensating for having Chris and Wyatt out of the house. Mel was quiet and serious and had slipped off within about five minutes of being introduced to them, completely disinterested. Leo wasn't there, busy supervising the field trip, but Phoebe came by, dragging Coop, and Henry came to pick up Paige. Jayden was polite and friendly and chatted with everyone, but he kept throwing increasingly desperate looks at Lauren.

"Right," she said eventually, taking pity on him. "Come on, Jayden, see my room."

"It's a store room now," Piper told her.

"Someone got tired of sorting out things in the attic after every attack," Phoebe agreed.

"Doesn't really matter what it is. Come on, Jayden."

She glanced back as they reached the stairs, smiling faintly; the sisters were having a slap war to decide who'd upset Jayden the most. Shaking her head, she led Jayden upstairs.

"I'm sorry," she told him as they reached what had once been her room. "I sort of forget how overwhelming they can be."

"A lot of things about you make a lot more sense now," Jayden said dryly. Lauren laughed, leaning against one of the boxes. "How long did you live here?"

She shrugged. "Five years, give or take."

"And Chris?" He glanced up at her silence. "They were all very carefully not mentioning him."

"Nearly two. Chris was here for nearly two years."

"I'm glad."

"Mmm. I'm just going to the bathroom. Stay up here, they shouldn't come after you." Jayden nodded, wandering across to the window and gazing out at the street below.

"I wanted you to come here, you know."

He turned to see Piper leaning against the doorframe. "I'm sorry?"

"Polite," she said, almost to herself. Stepping into the room, she repeated, "I wanted you to come here too."

"Here I am."

"No, not now. Fifteen years ago. When Lauren came to us first, and we heard about The Plan." Jayden could hear the capital letters when she said it. "Do you know why she came here?" Jayden shook his head, and she explained, "Her power, your power, is hidden under ours. Your bad guys couldn't possibly have found her. So I offered to take you, too. You'd both have been hidden here." 

Jayden shook his head. "No. The Nighlok had to be able to find one of us. Otherwise, they'd have gone on a rampage. Shiba power was the only thing holding them back."

"That's what I was told," Piper agreed. "I didn't understand how a man could design a plan that depended on his son staying in danger. I still don't. But that was the way it had to be, apparently." She studied him for a moment. "They wouldn't tell me where you were. I think they were afraid I'd snatch you - I did the best I could for Lauren, for as long as I could. I know she wasn't happy at the school, but she was so safe there, and she learned. She said that's what she needed."

Jayden nodded. "It was exactly what she needed. She saved the world with what she learned there." He smiled. "She was very happy here. She told me so."

"She missed Chris. She was good for him, I think."

"I'm glad she had someone to be close to. Even just for a while."

Piper touched his cheek lightly, smiling at him. "Lauren is part of our family, Jayden. That makes you part of our family too. I know you have your team, now. But know that you are welcome here."

Jayden bowed his head, swallowing. "Thank you."

"Now come and have some brownies," she added, voice deliberately light. "Lauren tells me they're your favourite - or, they were, when you were five, anyway."

"Thank you," Jayden repeated. "I'll just wait for Lauren."

Piper nodded, smiling, and left the room. Jayden drifted back to the window, staring blindly out for a minute.

Lauren came to lean against him, arm around his waist and head on his shoulder. "All right?"

"Yeah," he said softly. "Yeah. I'm all right."


	10. Epilogue, 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tissues. That's all I'm saying.

Almost fifteen years after defeating Master Xandred, Lauren was practising in the dojo when Jayden tapped on the door frame. "Someone's here to see you."

"Oh?" She whirled through the last move, turning to look at him. "Who is it?"

"One of the Halliwells."

"Oh!" She grinned, slipping past him to the front door.

Chris was perched on the picnic table, studying the grounds. Lauren grinned, hurrying towards him. "Chris!"

"Hey," he said with a grin, standing to sweep her into a hug. "Lauren. Wow."

"What?" she protested.

"Sorry. The last time I saw you you were fourteen, and that wasn't so long ago. Sort of."

"The last time I saw you, you were exactly the same as you are now. Or, you were two and a half, depending. How's the timeline?"

"Perfect." 

She caught his face in her hands, studying him. It was strange to be older than him. "I missed you."

"Ditto." He glanced around the yard. "Nice place, though."

"You grew up in the Manor."

Jayden cleared his throat from the front door and Lauren looked around, smiling. "Jayden, come and meet Chris. His parents fostered me in San Francisco. Chris, my brother Jayden."

"Nice to meet you," Chris said politely. "Lauren talked about you."

Jayden smiled. "Can I get you anything, a drink?"

"Thanks. Whatever's fine."

Jayden headed back inside and Lauren smiled, settling at the table. "So tell me, did you find Bianca?"

Chris blushed, reaching for Mentor's guitar. "I'm not telling."

"Chris."

"A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell, Lauren," he told her, fingering the strings lightly. "Whose is this? It's completely out of tune."

"It belonged to Jayden's Mentor."

"Oh." He grimaced apologetically. "Sorry."

"No, it's fine. Keep going. Someone should."

"Mommy!"

Chris' head jerked up. Lauren turned towards the front door, frowning. "What's wrong?" she called.

"Unca Jay says I can't come out!"

"Sorry!" Jayden called from somewhere deeper in the house.

Lauren smiled. "You can come out, sweetheart."

He hurtled out of the house, jumping in her arms. "I woke up an' Unca Jay said I couldn't come out because there was a guest, but I like guests, I'm nice to them! Can I meet the guest?"

"Sure you can, sweetheart. C'mere." She boosted him onto the table; Chris was staring at her, wide eyed. "Now, you remember I told you, when Mommy was young, she had a friend? And he had to go away?"

Her son nodded earnestly. "Yep! He was strong an' brave an' he saved his fambly, an' you missed him a lot so you named me his name to help remember him better!"

"That's exactly right." She looked up to meet Chris' eyes, smiling. "Christopher Perry Halliwell, may I present the nineteenth head of Shiba House, Christopher Jayden Shiba."


End file.
